Night Watch
by BlackRoseNecromancer
Summary: I got a crazy idea after watching the TMNT 2007 movie. The turtles are humans in high school by day, but a group of mysterious heroes called the Night Watch by night. Oh yeah, and Mikey's a girl: set in the 2012 version, they battle the Foot Clan, the Kraang, and the horrors of Freshman year, all while trying to hide their ninja secret from the school reporter, April O'Neil.
1. Chapter 1

Falling.

A never ending abyss of blackness engulfed him, swallowing his screams, his hammering heart, and whatever courage he had left.

Leonardo was downright petrified.

He didn't know what had happened. One minute he and his siblings were running through the sewers, playing a game of tag, and the next giant sinkholes opened up underneath their feet, swallowing them.

Donnie went first. The ground shifted beneath his feet, making him trip. His face smacked into the rim of the other side of the hole, dazing him before he fell.

Raph was next. He tried to save his brother, diving in to grab his hand. But Donnie had slipped away too late. The large teen's weight caused the hole to enlarge, and before he could scramble away in time, he was tumbling off the edge, green eyes wide with fear.

Mikey and Leo danced around, trying not to get stuck in the slowly melting tunnel. Leo looked over at his little sister, and saw that she was holding up fine. "Stay with me," he ordered as he leaped over another large pot hole. "I don't know how far down these things go."

"Relax, bro," Mikey smiled, running alongside the wall, avoiding the holes better than he. "I'm not afraid."

Suddenly, a blur of silver flashed in the dim darkness before catching itself on Mikey's chest. She tumbled back, and into a hole that opened up immediately. Luckily, she managed to swing her nun-chucks up and the blade end had caught itself in one of the pipes that ran atop the tunnel.

"Mikey!" Leo cried as he leaped over another hole. His hand grabbed the lead pipes and he found himself right next to the chains that kept his only sister from falling to her death. He looked down, and saw that she was trying to climb up, and he could also see that she was clutching her left shoulder, just above her heart. A sickly red liquid gushed from a deep, open wound.

"Grab my hand!" he said, reaching down. Mikey reached her bloody hand up for her brother, light gleaming off her baby blue eyes. Leo's hand was only a few inches away.

But then the chain on her nun-chucks snapped without warning, and she fell into the nothingness below, screaming her head off like the child she was.

"MIKEY!" Leo wailed. "DONNIE! RAPH! COME BACK!" Tears streamed down his cheeks as his hand continued to grip nothing. He was so close to saving her, and yet all of his siblings were dead. And he was supposed to be a leader . . .

Suddenly, his hand was covered in something thick and moist, and had the same texture as clay. He glanced up, and his deep blue eyes widened with fear. The lead pipes that he was clutching to were _melting_. His hand sank right through, and a few more seconds and he would fall as well. He gripped the smooth walls, but all he left were deep gouges. His katana blades were useless in the terrain he was in.

His hand broke free of the lead mush and he fell into the same hole that his sister had fallen though only moments ago. Twisting, turning, screaming, Leo was going to die.

Screams below caught his attention. There was light within the darkness, but he could see no source of it. Below, long tendrils like snakes wrapped around his brothers and sister. They were bleeding, broken, fearful but _alive_.

The tentacles ripped their black armor off, and started to skin them alive. Donnie had lost three fingers already. Raph was in the mist of having his eyes ripped out. Mikey was wailing like no banshee could ever do. It broke and destroyed Leo.

He hit the mass of evil, faceless snakes, and they immediately wrapped around his throat, legs, arms, keeping him bound. They crushed his katana blades and used the shards to cut his pale skin away. Blood stained the creatures crimson, but they didn't stop. Leo heard screaming, and was faintly aware that it was him.

Up above, a deep chuckle filled with insane malice cut through the atmosphere of cries of pain. A face pushed through the shadows, silver shining off the unseen light. A man with all but his eyes covered laughed delightfully as he watched the four teens being ripped to shreds.

The mass of razor tendrils had cut Leo's skin completely off, and were going to work on his innards. They ate away at his intestines, bones, muscles. He began to feel lightheaded and dizzy, as if the incredulous pain weren't doing enough of that.

He was sinking; they all were. Leo could see Raph's head and Donnie outstretched hand desperate to grab something in the smooth cavern. Mikey had just gone under, movement seen as she thrashed about. Her movements of struggle became less and less before the ceased completely.

The same thing happened with his younger brothers. As he was the only ninja left alive, Leo threw his head back and screamed bloody murder, which never beat the corrupt howls of the beast above him. The snakes took advantage and slithered up his neck. Before Leo could understand their plot, he felt them in his mouth, crawling down his throat, suffocating him. He clawed at them with his hands, but his fingers were all gone, only bony stubs left.

His head pounded, and he felt the most horrible pain ever in his chest. As he sank down, the snakes covered him, so that he may never see the light of day ever again. His one good eye bore into the single human eye of the Shredder above him, filling it with as much hate as he could . . .

_**{EPIC LINE BREAK}**_

"Bro! Dude, wake up!"

Leo bolted upright, drenched in a cold sweat. His body tingled painfully, and his heart rammed against his ribcage so hard he thought it would beat free. His vision was blurry and unfocused, and his pants were forced.

"Good god, what happened?" someone said, their voice full of worry.

"I don't know! He just started screaming. Must have been one heck of a nightmare."

"Leo! Look at me. How many fingers am I holding up?"

He tried to see the faces in front of him: boy with caramel skin and hard green orbs for eyes: another boy, taller, with a mop of brown hair holding out three fingers in front of him: a girl who had long scratched down her chest and neck, blond hair stained red.

Leo let the images come into focus, then felt himself cry again. His siblings were really alive.

"Whoa! Dude, is he really crying?" the girl asked, holding Leo's hand.

"He must be in shock," the tall boy exclaimed. "Hold on, I'll get sensei."

"No! Don't go!" Leo felt himself say. The boy stopped and turned around with large brown eyes staring back. The look on his face said: _Maybe it's more than shock. Maybe's he's gone nuts?_

"Leo, wake up!" The caramel-skinned boy cracked the back of his hand against Leo's face, whipping his head back. As the other boy and girl gasped and chewed his attacker out, Leo could only smile happily. He jumped forward and crushed all three of his younger siblings in a bear hug. They froze with uncertainty and surprise.

"Sorry guys," Leo sobbed. "I just had a nightmare. You all . . . died." He choked on that last word.

The girl scooted out of his arms and patted him on the back. "Leo, none of us will leave you that easily," she said, grinning crazily, but with a softer look in her eyes. "Who cares how strong our enemies are? We'll kick their butts back to Japan, no matter what."

Leo smiled at Mikey, then at the green-eyed boy who said, "Yeah man, so quit crying. It doesn't suit you." He brushed his messy white hair out of his face, and for once in a rare while, Raph smiled with kindness and pity.

Donnie, the tall boy, sighed happily. "You seem to have calmed down, Leo. Can you get back to sleep?"

The eldest knew that it was his job to be the strong one, but the images of his dream hit him again and he shivered in fear, feeling his heart race again. "No," he responded, very honest with them.

No words were spoken, and Leo worried greatly if his siblings now though less of him. Instead, they lay down with him. Raph off the side of the bed on his knees, his elbows on the mattress to make a pillow for his head. Donnie, ever the flexible, curled up into a ball at the foot of the mattress, his hair gently tickling Leo's feet. Mikey pulled herself up to the head board and leaned against the wall, her hand petting Leo's black mane of hair. "Just go to sleep, bro," she said, sounding annoyed but with a giant grin on her face.

Leo smiled back, and settled into his soaked pillow. Mikey in front, Donnie below, Raph to the side. The eldest ninja felt so protected that when he fell asleep, the presence of his siblings kept his nightmares away.

_**Kinda just derping right now. **_

_** This is a proluge to the story, just introducing the characters and how different they are here.**_

_** They are human. Mikey's a girl. **_

_** But they still live in the sewers, and Splinter is still a giant rat. And Shredder is still hell-bent on killing them.**_

_** So yeah. Thanx for reading!**_


	2. Chapter 2

High school.

A dangerous arena for teenagers, young and old, to duke it out to the death or to the brink of tears with tests, bullies, clichés, and stress.

And for sixteen year old news reporter, April O'Neil, life was a mix between misery and ecstasy.

Her father had gone missing a few weeks beforehand, and even with her birthday having been the previous weekend, there was still no sign of her mother. Living with her aunt, she had been going to Roosevelt High for her sophomore year, and had made her title as the school journalist.

The school sat in the more quiet part of Manhattan, and each day there was normal, in a routine: normal announcements, usual beat-downs and phone-calls home to expecting parents, same garbage for lunches, and the same old teachers that seem to be devils drinking in the frustration of their students.

The students attending were the same as well: jocks showing off, pretty girls and cheerleaders dominating the halls, skaters off being themselves, geeks and nerds quietly being alone. And then there were people like April, well-known, but not ridiculously popular. Kind in class, but not the brightest spark. Has plenty of friends, and are well liked by teachers.

And as the school reporter, she had even more respect. She went to the crappy theater performances, the football games, the events held at the school, from colossal to negligible. They were all written in the paper, all for the students and staff to read.

April was a talented journalist. Everyone knew that she was to become a reporter as her career, and her work certainly showed it. All of her writing was positive, and approved by all. She had already been given a couple offers to colleges and was on the verge of earning a scholarship. For April, High school was Utopia.

That is, until the four came.

It started out a normal day. April woke to her screaming aunt telling her to get up. Once again, she had fallen asleep at her desk, trying to finish her Trig homework. She'd shower, eat, and watch the news with her aunt. Then she'd complete any other homework before rushing off to school. She met with the other members of the journalism club, deciding on what to write for that week's newspaper. Then she went to her first class of the day, which happened to be Trig.

That was when her day began to differ.

Her teacher, Mr. Newman, took attendance, collected the previous night's assignment, and then directed his class's attention to the open doorway. "Class, I'd like to introduce you to our newest students: the Hamato's."

Four teens walked through the doorway and stood before the class. Everyone was taken aback by them, even April. They were all over five foot five, muscled, burly, and stood with confidence. They all had the swollen knuckles of martial artists, and their clothes were messy and their hair deshelved, as if they weren't used to dressing or taking care of themselves.

But that was all that they had in common. Even for April, who seemed to be the most open-minded person there was, it was hard to believe that they were all siblings. From first glance, they looked like three completely different people, and if they were siblings they would have to have been all adopted.

There were three boys and a girl. The first, a young man with black hair that was cut to his neck, and deep blue eyes, brimmed with determination. Clearly, he was the elder brother. He wore simple jeans, a blue and black T-shirt, and a black windbreaker.

Following, a taller boy, quiet noticeably the tallest of the group. Brown hair was swept over brown eyes, cut shorter than the previous brother. He wore a white shirt, khaki's, and a matching purple hoodie.

Third, the female sibling. She was short compared to her brothers, barely clearing five foot five. Her dirty blond hair was pulled back into a pony tail, revealing a face creased with laugh lines, freckles across her nose, and crystal blue eyes. She had on a light blue dress, black leggings, and an orange snowboarding jacket, which went with the outfit pretty well. Even though her jacket was zipped up, however, April swore the girl's neck was bandaged.

And finally, a gruff boy with tanned skin and white hair. Anger smoked in his green eyes, and when a couple of jocks snickered his way, he shot a look saying _you're a mutt compared to me_. He had on jeans and a red tank top, layered with a black leather jacket. The tank was low cut, not suited for the sudden cold weather. Across the left side of his chest was an ugly white scar shaped like a lightning bolt. It was partially covered by the red of his shirt.

The four looked about fifteen, and were glancing around the room, taking in the interior, as if making plans for a quick escape. April remembered seeing a restricted file by accident that four new freshmen were coming in that day. She also remembered one interesting detail: they had all been homeschooled before and today was their first time in a real school building. They lived with their father, Yoshi Hamato, who apparently used to be a teacher.

Mr. Newman cleared his throat. "Can you four please introduce yourselves?"

From the black-haired young man to the scary green-eyed boy, the four called out their names:

"Leonardo."

"Donatello."

"Michelangelo."

"Raphael."

April thought that was a bit odd. As far as she knew, their father was Japanese, even though the four looked nothing of Oriental origin. Why had they been named after Renaissance figures?

The teacher leaned over his desk and asked the girl a pardon. "You're Michelangelo?"

"Yes." She had a childish look in her eyes, as well as intelligent. With her up-turned eyebrows and mischievous smile, it was told first off that she was the type not to be trusted around matches or weapons.

The teacher looked appalled, but quickly recomposed himself. "Do any of you have nicknames you wish to go by?"

Once again, they responded in order:

"Leo."

"Donnie."

"Mikey."

"Raph."

April thought that the last two were odd. She at least predicted that Mikey would have gone by Angel as in Michel_angel_o, and Raph sounded like a weird codename. She had the decency to keep her opinion to herself, but a few of the jerk jocks in the front row couldn't seem to shut up.

"What's up with Mikey?" a burly football player named Ronald snickered. "What are you, gender confused?"

April didn't even see them move. One second Mikey and Leo were standing quietly up at the front of the room, and the next they were on Ron, each on either side of his desk. They stood like statues, eyes of malice gleaming into Ron's brain. He was obviously startled, because he yelped and fell out of his chair. It erupted a round of laughter from the class.

When Mr. Newman had calmed himself of his laughter, he ordered a grumbling Ron back into his seat. "Can you four please take a seat anywhere you wish?"

April watched as the four dispersed. Raph seated himself towards the back of the room, where the storage door was, and Mikey found a seat next to the window. Leo sat up at the front of the room near the door, and Donnie ended up sitting in the last available seat, which happened to be right next to her.

Up close, he was kind of cute, with pale skin and thick hair, and now she could see that his eyes were tinted red. He caught her looking at him, and she smiled in a greeting fashion. He returned the grin. He was missing a tooth, a gaping hole in his mouth. He was a bit scrawny, more so than his siblings, temporarily putting him as a nerd in April's mind. _But not all nerd's are weird_ she chided herself.

The rest of the morning continued normally. As it turned out, all of the four new students were smart cookies, even Mikey who stood out as a skater. _She must be an idiot savant_ April thought, and from her knowledge if Latin it meant 'stupid genius.'

At the end of first period, the four siblings got up and left together. Walking down the hall, they seemed to draw eyes to themselves, more than what normal new students get. April paused at that sudden thought. _Why did I not think of them as normal?_

She started down the hall for her locker. It was on the other side of the hall, but before she could get five yards away from the door, she heard her teacher's voice call out to her.

"April, may I speak with you for a moment?" Mr. Newman said. Through the chatter of the other sophomores, the math teacher's voice sounded tiny. "The four new students have not been in this school complex before, and I was wondering if you could show them around during your study hall time. I'll write you a pass during your lunch period."

"That sounds like a plan, Mr. Newman," April answered, "but I'm supposed to be interviewing students for the newspaper then."

"Well then, why don't you talk to one of the new students? From what I know, they used to live in the rural area of New York State, and only recently they've gone into the city. Maybe you could talk to them about city life, see what it's like from their perspective."

It was actually a really good idea, as she was looking for more newspaper articles. Interviewing the Hamato's seemed like a great idea. "Thanks, sir," she said. "I'll see at noon for that pass."

"See you, April," the teacher said, and the girl quickly bounded down the corridor, eager to get her things for her next class.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Holy . . . ! Guys, thanks so much for commenting! **_

_**Mindless Turtle: Yeah, me too! This was fun to write.**_

_**Guest: Mikey's female because I thought it would be funny to have a hyper dumb tomboy in there. Sorry, April. I just don't really think you do well enough. :P**_

_**Across-The-Fandom: Well, your wait is over!**_

_**ProngsiemoonyPadsie: Holy crap, you've got a long username. And don't worry, this story's going to be at least twenty chapters long, so don't fret your head!**_

_**Well, on we go!**_

_**Oh yeah: disclaimer! **_

_**I don't own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.**_

It was natural for a ninja to be shrouded in darkness, using the black shadows as cover. They were a secretive people, and ones whom are not expected to be, which made them even more so feared. They were assassins, and legend-foretold half human, half crow.

Well, Raphael Hamato was ready to bust out some fists in the daylight, because High School was whacked up enough for it in his opinion.

As they left first period, Raph was busy pushing his fingers into his temples, trying to soothe his sudden headache. So many equations, so many numbers; his mind just wasn't wired for Math. Donnie seemed to do fine, always the brainiest, but even Leo seemed stumped from time to time. Raph would catch his older brother tapping his face with his pencil, his head resting on a fisted hand as he stared at his textbook, then at the board, trying to piece together the information. Mikey just looked dead, all of the info seemingly going in one ear and out the other. She was sweating a ton when she was called up to the smart board and even stumbled a bit. It was surprising that they got all the answers right. They hurried out the door, books in hand, trying to avoid stares as they headed off to their lockers.

Raph swore that every girl that they passed seemed to blush. A couple even gave him and Leo intense stares that made him uncomfortable. Several jocks were glaring with evil joy at his younger siblings as if to say _whoppie! New punching bags!_

It crossed his mind that all of the students there were worse that the Foot Clan and the Kraang combined.

Halfway down the hall, the corridors split into two hallways. Leo immediately broke left and started fiddling with his lock. Mikey and Donnie stared down the right wing, where an eerie light flickered on and off. They stiffly walked close together down the hall, ready to run at full speed at any minute. Raph gripped his books and started down the left hallway. At least his locker wasn't too far.

He opened his locker and started to grab his belongings for genetics. He wouldn't see Leo for the rest of the day: his schedule was completely different from Raph's and they didn't even have the same lunch time, which was a real bummer. The bright side was he didn't have his bossy brother telling him off at everything that came out of his mouth. He'd see Mikey at the end of the day, when they had gym, but until then she'd have to struggle with World History and science without Donnie's help. He and Donnie had tech ed and lunch together, which was a good thing considering he needed a lot of help with his homework.

His genetics class was only two doors down from his locker, which was a blessing. The hallway was creepy, and even though he didn't really feel nervous or anxious, the lighting and lack of noise produced a sensation that worried him dearly. Raph knew danger: he had been in many fights, including the one that gave him his scar, but currently he was in unfamiliar territory, trying to make sense of it all.

He made it into class just in time, and it really did look like it belonged to a scientist. The desks were black and cut into rectangles, with beakers and bottles and papers everywhere. White cabinets which probably held countless trinkets and gadgets were casting shadows over sinks. The teacher's desk was a mess of papers and packets, which was nestled in the corner of the room. The projector screen shined an image on the white board, displaying what appeared to be a family tree. Circles and squares, some filled in and some left white branched out from each other, displaying five generations. Students dotted the classroom, gazing intently at papers and pencils moving quickly. The bell rang, echoing in the white room.

Crashing behind him made Raph jump. Yelping, he danced away from the door, staring at a stumbling figure. A man in his twenties with blond Einstein hair and thick glasses. He was lanky, tall, thin, and a complete mess. His black turtle neck and white lab coat didn't seem to help matters.

The man lost his grip on his folder, sending papers askew. They flew over tables and students, only to immediately curve and change course or simply float to the tile floor. Only the closest few students who were soon consumed by papers glanced up for a quick second before returning to their worksheets.

The teacher mumbled under his breath as he scrambled to pick up his papers. But due to his clumsy nature he only succeed in scattering them further across the room. None of the students got up to help, except for one girl clad in black in the back of the room who got up out of her seat to assist.

Raph, seeing the girl, got down on his knees to help as well. The two students' arms were filled with papers, more than the teacher's. Raph watched the girl tap the teacher on the shoulder. He looked up at her as she held out her hands that held the papers, as if telling him to take them.

"Please put them on my desk," the man instructed. He sounded like a computer, with no real detectable pitch change in his voice. The girl nodded her head, and strode off in the opposite direction. Raph trailed her and copied her as she let her stack of papers fall to the desk with a thump.

As the girl returned to her seat, Raph walked back over to the teacher, who had managed to stand and lose his spectacles in the process. While he patted his face, the white-haired teen quickly scanned the white floor and spotted the thick glasses near the teacher's foot. It was about to be stepped on and broken by its owner, who was stumbling with confusion.

When his foot hit the floor, there was no crush of glass or plastic. Raph tapped his shoulder, and when the teacher spun around, his glasses were held out before him. "Oh, thank you," was the reply Raph was given. The spectacles were plucked from his hand and were back on the teacher's face. He blinked a few times as if to help clear his vision, and then looked at his newest student. "Ah, you must be Raphael," he said, clapping him on the back.

"Um, it's just Raph . . ."

"I'm Mr. Foster," he said, shaking Raph's hand. "And I must say you are quiet the interesting fellow. You are quite lucky to have green eyes, as it is a recessive trait and all. Did you know that . . ."

Someone coughed in the room, but Raph couldn't see who. He didn't know the purpose of it, but Mr. Foster did. He rubbed his hands together. "Well then Raph how is your knowledge on genetics?"

"I know it has to do with genes, which make up the recipe for life to grow."

"And . . ."

"That's about it." Raph blushed as all of the student's eyes were glued to him, he had just realized. However, they were all either really expressionless or Raph just stank at reading emotions.

"Well then, have a seat next to Silvia," Mr. Foster said, gesturing to the back of the room where a girl sat alone, the same one who had helped pick up Mr. Foster's escape papers. She didn't even look up from her paper. "She's our smartest student, and can help you get on track."

Raph gently walked to the desk where the girl in black was, and as he got closer, his eyes grew wider. Silvia looked about fourteen, with black short hair and green eyes. She wore black zipper pants that hugged her legs, a black T-shirt and a ripped up army jacket, as well as chain jewelry. She glanced up and he saw that she was very pale, and her eyes were lined with black eyeliner.

Raph set his butt in the seat next to her. There was already a packet turned to the correct page with a pencil resting alongside it resting in front of him.

"Do you see the Tree up on the board?" she said. "The circles are females, the squares are male. Those filled black are color blind. As you probably don't know, a female chromosome is XX, where a male's is XY. The recessive trait can't hide on a Y chromosome, so males are more common to be color blind. You see that there are more filled in squares than filled in circles?"

She kept talking and talking, and Raph had trouble keeping up. Silvia was confident in everything; a smart cookie. She was patient, and answered all questions he had. "Now answer the first question: how many heterozygous males are present in the Tree?"

Raph was silence for a moment so he could process the question and answer. "Um, none?"

"Yep," Silvia smiled. "Now answer the next one: look at the first mother. What is her set of alleles?"

Raph found himself quickly answering. He had somehow memorized the Tree: the mother was a white circle and her husband was a black square. They had five kids, three of them color blind, and two weren't. "She's heterozygous."

"Correct." Silvia looked at him with the green of her eyes flickering. "You're a fast learner, dude. You're lucky. Okay, next question."

In no time, Raph had finished the page and was busy playing with his pencil. He glanced up at the clock, and saw that there was ten minutes left before class got underway. "So, what's going on with you?" He felt it too awkward with the silence between him and his partner.

"What do you mean?" Silvia spoke quietly, almost like a whisper.

Okay, now Raph felt _really_ awkward. "Well do you do any sports?"

"I'm a martial artist."

"What kind do you do?"

"Mixed, but also judo and ju Jitsu."

"So you're a grappler."

Silvia shrugged her jacket off her shoulder, revealing that she was actually wearing a tank top. Her shoulders and biceps were bigger and more well-defined than most girls. "Gotta practice every night.

"What kind of martial arts do you do?" the Goth asked as she pulled her jacket back on.

"A whole mix of stuff," Raph answered, which was partly true. He knew karate, ju Jitsu, and many other things as well as ninjitsu. Silvia looked impressed, and nodded her head in approval.

"How long have you been training?"

"Almost all my life. My sen . . . er, my dad took martial arts when he was younger and encouraged me and my siblings to take classes." That was too close, as he had almost said _sensei_.

"Wow bro, looks like you've got a pair," she said.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but my twin bro says it all the time."

"You're twin is . . ."

"The jock, Ronald." She took one look at his expression and nodded in agreement. "We're not identical, but he got the looks and I got the brains. Guess it happens with twins."

"Guess it makes sense because you have green eyes and he doesn't."

"Do you have a class with him?"

"Yeah, Trig," Raph answered, and he grimaced. "He got on my brothers' bad side when he insulted my little sister."

"I thought you only had brothers."

"Well, Mikey's such a tomboy we consider her a brother."

Silvia smiled cutely. "Are they all martial artists too?"

"Yep, though I'm the best," he boasted, flexing his muscles.

"Well, then I'll have to spar you sometime," she said.

Raph smiled back. This girl was awesome.

_**THERE IS NO ROMANCE BETWEEN RAPH AND SILVIA!**_

_** Also, I know this chapter is kinda cruddy. I wanted to have a chapter of blarg.**_

_** Until next time!**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**First Leo, then April, and then Raph. Who is going to be narrating this time? **_

_**It is . . .**_

_***drum roll***_

_**Donnie!**_

_**Warning: Be prepared for smartass crack.**_

_**I don't own the TMNT.**_

Everything was interesting.

Donatello could barely contain his curiosity. Being around other human beings who weren't even mutants was something so odd and mystifying that anyone would be jumping at every chance to learn about them. Donnie had discovered that a lot of these people were starved for attention, and were harshly cut up into distinct groups, all with different bias swarming about them and other people.

He noticed that several of the girls whom he assumed were labeled 'popular crowd' kept sneering away at them, with both lust and distaste. Raph and Leo looked uncomfortable, probably because they didn't know what the looks meant. Several boys, handsome with evil glints in their eyes, laughed and sneered and made rude gestures at Mikey, who hugged her books closer to her chest, but didn't let any fear show in her face.

Donnie got several looks as well, though his were more along the lines of _Will he join my club? _and _He's nerdy, but he's kind of cute._ And although he did get several threatening glances from jocks and smarty boys, he felt that the walk down the hall was the best of his life, as he had learned so much from the students and about humanity.

Leo and Raph branched away from him and Mikey, and the two youngest set off down the hallway, ignoring the stares and murmurs. A few doors down and he was at his locker. Mikey kept walking down the hall. Soon in his hands were his World History textbooks and he was off to class, returning back down the hall from which he had come. A glance at a clock made his eyes widen and his pace quicken until he was at a running pace. His foot was in the doorway when the bell rang.

The room was long and large with clusters of desks dotting the area. A teacher's desk was set up front, with files and stacks of paper neatly set up on the wood. A computer sat on the corner, with a power-point slide running, displaying instructions for a 'journal entry.' Students filled all of the seats, minus one, which was next to that ginger girl, April was her name. She took an accidental glance up from her notebook and her eyes widened at the sight of Donnie. She grinned widely and waved a bit. The ninja could only wave back, grinning like an idiot. It didn't even occur to him to hide the gap in his teeth.

One of the two side doors creaked open and a tall, thin man stepped into the room. He dressed like any other teacher, with khaki pants and a dress shirt, but what took to Donnie was his skin and hair. White skin and snowy white hair cropped close to his scalp. Even his mustache, eyebrows, and eyelashes were white. His eyes were a pale red. An albino. _**(And yes people, I love albinos. They are awesome and I wish I was one. If you read my other stories, don't be surprised if there's an albino in them.)**_

His eyes swept the classroom before settling onto Donnie. His shoulders relaxed a moment before tensing again. He strode, or more like glided across the carpet floor. He stood before Donnie, and although the teenager was tall, the teacher clearly had four inches on him, making the albino over six feet.

"Ah, you must be our new student." He talked like a philosopher, though Donnie had never really met one before. Before he could answer, a ghostly white hand was held out before him. "I'm Mr. Claude, and I trust you have had a good day so far?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, sir," Donnie nodded, more than aware that all eyes were on him. "I find myself rather good at history."

"Good then. Perhaps then you could tell the class something about yourself," Mr. Claude replied, gesturing to the other twenty-five teens. Donnie gulped, hoping that it went unnoticed.

"Um, er, well . . ." he stuttered.

"Oh, get on with it, then!" a boy shouted from the front of the room.

"Quiet, CJ," April shushed, which erupted a small giggle from some of the students. It didn't make Donnie feel any less nervous.

"Well," the ninja continued, "I'm an inventor, and I make cool robots and machines." _Yeah, smooth, Donnie_, he scolded. _That will help get you some friends._ Sure enough when he looked around, several students had rolled their eyes and gone back off into their side conversations. Only half of the class remained to attention.

Mr. Claude sniffed. "Okay, now . . . um, what's your name?"

"Huh? Oh! Donatello."

He was surprised when his teacher laughed hardy. "How ironic that we just completed our Renaissance unit, finishing it with a quiz on the famous artists?" He chuckled to himself, but the other students didn't laugh.

Mr. Claude collected himself quickly. "Alright then, Donnie. Have a seat next to . . ." His voice trailed off when he looked over at April's table. CJ was sitting diagonal from her, and he was a blonde, grey-eyed boy who seemed like a bit of a snob. Next to April was a buff young man with reddish gold hair and blue eyes: Ronald. "Sit across from April."

As Donnie made his way to his seat, the stares of his new classmates seemed to grow with . . . something. He couldn't read the emotions, only that they meant danger for him. He sat down next to April and set his books down on the desktop. Mr. Claude turned off the power point and the screen flashed to his screensaver, which was photograph of a calm cabin in snowy woods.

"Alright class," Mr. Claude said, getting the attention of the teenagers, "today I have a bit of a treat for you all." He walked to his computer and typed in a few key words. He pulled up a video and at the top of the website was the words _CNN Student News_. "For this morning, we will watch an episode of Student News and we'll have a seminar. Then we will start our new unit of the Oriental region."

The teacher clicked his mouse and the program ran. The news anchor, Carl Azuz, started off the show with government issues and updating a recent terrorist attack. Then he switched to a live anchor in New York, and Donnie tensed. _Please don't talk about it. Talk about something else. Anything but . . . _

"Well, recently the mysterious group of what appear to be urban ninjas have become an urban legend around Manhattan," the news anchor began, and a loud thump echoed throughout the room. Heads turned to look at the brown-haired teen, which had let his head fall on his desk rather loudly. "Because they are only seen at night, they have been labeled the Night Watch by the government. They seem to take up where the police have quit or are unable to do, such as make daring rescues and stopping dangerous burglaries from the notorious Purple Dragon gang."

A grainy dark picture flashed on the screen, showing four dark clad figures in mid jump from rooftop to rooftop. The only way to really distinguish them was from the different coloring of highlights on their jumpsuits; one was red; another blue; a third orange; and the last purple. Masks covered their faces, but the picture was too grainy to really make out their forms anyhow. "We can see them as four young males, muscular and lean. From the video we are showing here, they move with more agility and speed than most people, and definitely are much more quiet and stealthy than humans can be.

"Either these people are robots, highly trained ninjas from Japan, or crazy adults trying to be heroes. Whatever the cause, we should be glad to have them around," the anchor concluded.

Carl Azuz nodded. "Thank you Sean. Now regarding the newest terrorist attack in Iran . . ."

Donnie picked his head up off of his desk, and rubbed the center of his forehead. April tapped his shoulder, and he turned to her, worry etched to her face. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine," he answered, still rubbing his head.

"What did you do that for?"

Donnie tensed. _Quick, think of something. _"Ever since I got here the only talk has been about the Night Watch. I'm a bit sick of it." April nodded her head in understanding and turned her attention back to the screen.

When the program was finished, Mr. Claude turned off the computer and weaved his way to the front of the room. "Well class, what are your opinions on what was discussed on the News today?"

The whole class had their hands raised. Mr. Claude nodded his head at a girl sitting in the back. "Go on, Clara."

Clara cleared her throat. "I found the bit on the Night Watch interesting, mostly likely because it's happening here in the city. Why do you guys think the Night Watch is here?"

No one raised their hands to answer, but a boy called out, "Maybe they do work for the CIA or FBI or something, and this whole gig is just a test?"

"Didn't they say that they're not registered in the police force?" a random voice called out.

"Yeah, so maybe they are trying to prove that they are better than the police," CJ said. "I'd like to change the topic: again, concerning the Night Watch, who do you think they are?"

The seminar went like that for about ten minutes: the students would call out answers to questions, no one interrupting, and if someone wanted to change the question being answered, they could and the conversation would shift to that topic. Eventually, April called out, "I have to agree with Ananya. The Night Watch is good group to have, however they could also be dangerous. We don't know enough about them to really trust them, but at the same time they're a reliable team to look to if things get too rough. They could be good or bad. I mean, didn't they once break into TCRI?" Murmurs broke out in the room, some agreeing and disagreeing.

Mr. Claude glanced around the room before resting on Donnie. "Donatello," he said, getting the class to hush and the attention of said student, "you haven't taken part in the seminar yet. What do you think the Night Watch's motives are?"

Donnie tensed. All eyes were on him. He tried to shrink back in his seat, but he felt an elbow nudge his arm. He turned to find April smiling reassuringly. "There are no wrong answers," she said.

He took a deep breath, and used that stalling time to sort out his words. "Well, obviously we know that they fight crime, but at the same time they seem to do their own thing, such as the TCRI break-in.

"If you ask me, they might just be doing what they think is right. I don't think their specifically working for anyone but themselves." Donnie sat back, and kept his head down, afraid of the stares he knew he'd get.

"Very interesting, Donatello," Mr. Claude remarked. "I believe that's similar to what Benjero said." A few heads turned to the small Hispanic boy sitting in the back of the room, whose nose was buried into his history book. He glanced up upon hearing his name, saw that he wasn't needed, and returned to his reading.

"Alright then!" Mr. Claude clapped his hands together, getting the class's attention. "Now, everyone get out a sheet of paper." Everybody did so. April went to lend her seatmate one, but Donnie showed her that he already had a notebook. "Everyone write down the names of the Southeast-Asian countries."

_Well, this is easy_. Donnie quickly was writing. _Vietnam, Laos, Thailand _ . . . He continued the list until he had them all. He noticed that most of the students were tapping their pencils against their heads, confused or trying to think. He leaned back in his chair, slouching, and pressed his hand to his face. _When will they let it go?_

His face looked to the clock that was perched above the teacher's desk. They had wasted a good half hour, and had an hour left of class. He let his head fall back and hang off the top of his chair. _At least Night Watch is a good name for us._

_**Plot had to come out sometime, eh?**_

_**And yes, CNN Student News is a real thing. My eighth grade social studies teacher - who is awesome - would show us an episode of Student News at the end of our period. And yes, Carl Azuz is the anchor for Student News. **_

_**Up next, we will have Leo's POV to read from. After that, we'll have Mikey narrate. **_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Leo's POV for this one. **_

_**Also, I'm being really cliché here with the whole 'rape is a thing' thing. No one would really be like that in a Health class.**_

'_**Nuff' said.**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT.**_

Lunchtime: recess for high school students. Times to eat, chat with friends freely, and relax from the day.

For Leonardo Hamato, it was like a safe house along the Underground Railroad.

He had just come from his second period class, which was Health, and he was more than grateful to be out of that classroom. They had begun some sort of program in which they talked about relationships, abuse in relationships, and the horrible reality that rape is a thing out there. The girls, oh man, they were nuts. They kept ranting on about how their ex-boyfriends did this and that and yadi, yadi, yada. And the boys in the class were absolute perverts, mentioning the craziest and most disgusting things rapists sometimes did. Luckily, the lot of them ended up down at the office for inappropriate conduct and language.

_Did they really have to bring up . . . ? No! Don't even think it,_ Leo mentally scolded himself. He found himself at the lockers, and fiddled with his lock. Unlucky for him, he got the bad locker, and he had to practically kick it to get it to open. A few bullies snickered at his struggles, but Leo just ignored them. He grabbed his lunch, and slammed the door, but it bounced right back open. Leo was about to scream in hate, but he paused with his mammoth breath just long enough to see that his backpack had gotten in the way. He rearranged the contents of the locker, and closed it again. This time it did shut.

Sighing, Leo started the walk of shame to the lunchroom when, "Hey, Leo!" Groaning, he turned to the female voice and saw a ginger teen rushing toward him. He remembered her from their Math class.

"Hey," he called. "You're . . ."

"April O'Neil," she answered. "I wanted to talk to you."

"If it's a date, no."

"What?" She looked puzzled for a second before her eyes widened. "Oh, no. That's not it. I work for the school newspaper, and I wanted to interview you."

Leo felt a sudden pang of worry, as he had never been asked to something like that. "What's the paper about?"

"Nothing much," April shrugged. "I wanted to do a segment about different backgrounds, and you and your brothers and sister seem to fit the bill. I wanted to interview you. Are you in?"

"Uh, sure?"

"Sweet!" A second later, April was strolling past Leo and down the hall, towards the lunchroom. What puzzled him was that she didn't have a lunch box with her. He didn't say anything, for he figured she skipped meals because she was as thin as a rail.

The lunchroom was busy and bustling, though not as loud as what he once thought. A lengthening line of students was at the gate to the lunch buffet, while others who had decided to bring their lunches and forget the trouble of waiting in line were settling down at their tables. A few students were working on homework, but most were chatting away with friends. At the front of the room was a stage and podium, though it was unoccupied.

April pulled Leo over to one side of the room, where some booths were and they slid into one, facing each other. Leo opened his lunchbox, but didn't really make any moves to eat. April got out a journal and a pen, jot down a few words, then looked up to her peer. "Alright then, Leo. How's school for you so far?"

"Weird." What? He was being honest. "The teachers are good, and they teach us a lot, though they don't seem to supervise the halls enough. I'm learning a lot more here than when I was being homeschooled by Ma- er, my dad. The other students, uh, can we skip that?"

"Why?" April asked, though by her expression she already seemed to know the answer.

"They're . . . pervy," Leo got out. "Can we skip that?" He noticed that beforehand April had been writing her hand off, probably everything had he had said, but stopping moving her pen when he got to the student part.

The ginger smiled. "Sure thing. Now, next question: why did you decide to attend school here?"

_Well, the questions could be worse. Might as well answer_. "It just seemed like an alright school. My dad said that my brothers and I couldn't really go to a real fancy one, because this would be our first high school, so we chose a simple public one. So far, I haven't really been disappointed." That last part was a bit of a lie, but he wouldn't tell April that.

She didn't respond right away; she kept jotting things down on her paper. Leo didn't even think it was possible to write so fast. He was certain that her handwriting was chicken scratch. "Okay, last question: how do you think the rest of the year will turn out for you and your brothers and sister?"

Leo paused a moment before answering, trying to come up with a good response to top off the interview. "I can't really say for sure how it will really end," he said. "But I have a hunch that it will be different, and exciting."

"Anything else you'd like to add?"

"No, not really."

April ended her writing with a flourish of her pen, then snapped her booklet shut. "Thanks, Leo!" she grinned. "Oh, by the way, do you need help getting around the school? I can show you around later, if you like."

"Uh, no thanks. I have a map, and I been pretty much all around the school now, so I don't think getting around will be too much an issue anymore."

"See you in class, then."

"Yeah." Leo returned the smile. "See you."

She set off down the room, back to the doors that led to the hallway. Leo breathed in and out, and then looked at the contents of his lunchbox. Mikey had really gone to town with it: slices of bread, still warm, a thermos of cheese and broccoli soup, a container of raw vegetables and leftover fish, and a pack of dried fruit. Not only that, but tucked away in the top of his lunchbox was one of his comic books.

Leo was shocked, but had to smile. He said a quick thanks to his little tomboy of a sister in his head, then dug into his food. He ripped off bits of bread and soaked them in the soup before eating them. He crunched down the veggies rather loudly. He was really grateful for the dried fruit. All of his siblings including him could eat a lot. They had to, because of their stinking mutation their metabolisms were unnaturally high, and they needed more sugar and calories to sustain them. The best way they got them was through dried fruit, nuts, and the occasional pizza invasion.

He popped a few cherry tomatoes in his mouth and a sliver of catfish. He looked up at the clock, and saw that he had fifteen minutes of lunch left. He kept eating quickly, though trying not to make a mess. Ten minutes to go. Students started to get up and toss their trash into the garbage bins dotting the cafeteria. Leo, however, didn't have much trash, so he just stuffed his plastic bags in his lunch box. Five minutes. The teen ripped open his dried fruit pack and fished out a slice of apple and popped it into his mouth. The sudden burst of sugar made him shiver.

The bell was so loud in the room that Leo nearly jumped. Students filed away down different halls to their third period classes. Leo mingled with the crowd, squeezing through to get to his locker. He put his lunch box in before he got a sudden feeling, and he knew it all too well: his sixth sense was warning him of danger.

He slammed his locker and spun around, looking for anything suspicious, or possibly looking dangerous. Through the masses of students, he couldn't make out much that was out of the ordinary, but then again he was in an odd, unfamiliar place and to him anything could be mistaken as a threat.

Leo was about to dismiss the feeling when, in the slightest gap between students he saw a familiar face. Pale skin, black and blond hair, heavy black eyeliner and red eye makeup, and he could never get those sinister yellow eyes out of his brain. The glimpse was only brief, and Leo wasn't certain if he was seeing straight. He shook his head, pushing the palms of his hands into his eyes, relishing the throbbing pain it brought; it told him that he was still in reality.

Leo glanced up again, but once again there she was, smirking like the devil himself. She wasn't dressed in her ninja suit, oh no, that would draw attention. Instead, she wore her studded jacket and baggy jeans. Her fingerless black gloves were clenched. As the students washed over the sight of her, Leo surged forward, pushing through students while trying not to make him look rude and rushed. However, when he got to the other side of the hallway, there was no one there, at least, no sinister-looking teenage girls wanting to kill him. He felt dumb.

Shaking his head, Leo left the scene to go to his next class. Period three for him was SRT; a study hall. He didn't really have much homework to do (he'd done it during Health), so he took to the library where his class was held. The Media Center was a large area of the school, with high ceilings, bookshelves from wall to wall, and a computer lab in one corner of the place. Students were spread out among the tables that were scattered throughout the library. He sat down at an empty desk and opened his notebook and started doodling.

Surprisingly, he wasn't too bad at drawing, and soon had a picture of him and his siblings, all decked out in their ninja suits. Mikey was hanging from her long nun-chuck chain, like a monkey. Raph was holding up one of his Sais, which he had used to skewer a slice of pizza. Donnie had been blasted with an explosion and had soot all over his face, but he was grinning with a pair of steampunk-ish goggles on his head. Leo himself was smiling as well, holding a defeated Foot Ninja by the head. His free arm was hooked around Donnie's neck.

Leo had to smile; it seemed like forever since they had a fun time. All it was for them was spying, training, and sleep. Lunch was the first meal he'd eaten in days. Nothing more than working was what was in his life now. He was surprised he could be calm enough to draw his family.

He turned the page in his book and let his pencil conquer the paper. He didn't even know what he was drawing until voices outside in the hallway drew his attention away. He finally looked at the paper, and was confused at the rough sketch. Several large figures surrounding a smaller person, who had fallen on the floor and was backed against the wall. And curiously, one of the offensive figures looked suspiciously like . . .

The voice of one student echoed through the large room, gathering all of the attention of each person; "Miss Mavis!" The head librarian sitting at the front desk glanced up from her computer screen. Miss Mavis was a middle-aged woman with white hair and a crooked nose. Her grey eyes were scary, and reminded a lot of people of John Brown. The student, a small girl, braced her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. "It's Seth."

The woman, as well as several others, perked up. The disturbances outside grew louder, and many of the students fidgeted in their seats with worry. Leo looked back down at his drawing and suddenly it clicked into his mind. He got up out of his seat and started for the doors where the noises were coming from the loudest. Luckily, everyone was too frightened to really notice him. He opened the door only to feel a hand on his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" Miss Mavis asked, voice like steel.

"I want to help." That was the only real answer he could give, though he didn't really think it was a good wording. He thought that the librarian would send him back to his seat.

Instead she scowled. "Well, we could use all the help offered. Do you know how to defend yourself?"

"And others."

"Good enough." Miss Mavis pushed the rest of the door open and stepped into the hallway, Leo tagging her heels.

Leo set off down the hall, a run that made the lockers a blur. A second and a third door opened somewhere else, and a dark clad girl and a gruff white-haired boy sprung from the rooms. Leo briefly recognized the boy as Raph, but didn't know the girl. He traded expressions with his brother, and the message was clear: _She knows what she's doing. Trust her._

They turned the corner, but there was no one there. Then they heard the noises coming from outside. Well, Leo sure heard them. When he started down the hallway, Raph said, "Where are you going?"

Leo turned and said, "Can't you hear them? The voices?"

"Are you nuts?"

"Just follow!" Raph looked like he was going to was otherwise going to start and argument, but the Goth girl jogged after Leo, and his brother rolled his eyes and followed.

The three rounded a corner, out the doors, into the campus. They bolted down a sidewalk, around a corner, and froze at what they saw. Five large teens were in a half circle around a wall, grinning like devils. The person in the center of the half ring was a small, auburn-haired boy, with frightened hazel eyes. There was a cut on his arm that stained blood on his white shirt.

The leader of the pack, a huge boy with tanned skin and black hair in a buzz cut, loomed over the boy with a threatening stare. His grin was terrifying. "Oh man, Atilano," he said, shaking his head. The boy shivered. "We told you we didn't appreciate you telling on us about the issue with Benjamin. You up and got us suspended."

He took a step forward, and Atilano pushed himself farther into the wall. The gruff boy took a knife out of his sleeve, wiping red blood off the blade. The boy squawked. "Sorry bud, but we have to punish you."

"SETH!" The Goth girl screeched and launched herself at the boy. He barely spun around in time to see the girl throw her fist into his face. When Seth thumped to the ground, havoc was set free. The other four thugs rushed forward and started to lay fists on the teen. Raph was quicker to respond and yelled, "Silvia!" He rushed to her aid, and it was at that moment that Leo snapped awake and followed suit of his brother.

The battle was brief, though not so easily won. The three heroes got really banged and scratched up, though they were the only ones still standing. Leo figured out how to put the thugs to sleep by putting pressure on their necks. Raph slammed faces into the concrete, and Silvia put her attackers into chokeholds, holding them for ten or so seconds before releasing comatose people.

When the last fist was thrown, Leo turned to the small boy. Atilano had remained cowering in the dirt, shivering with fear of the fight. The blue-eyed teen kneeled before the smaller and smiled as warmly as he could. Atilano stopped shivering for a second. "Hey bro," Leo calmly said. "You alright?"

The boy shook his head. _Well, that was a dumb question_. "How's your arm?" The boy didn't say anything, but held out his right arm. From his wrist to the crease of his elbow was a shallow gaze, crusted with blood. It was rimmed brilliant red. "Doesn't look too bad," Leo lied.

Silvia knelt down next to Leo. "We should get him inside, get him to the nurse."

"I'll take him." Raph tenderly grabbed Atilano's good arm and helped him up. The shaking boy stumbled often from shock. Leo didn't smile physically, but within he grinned with approval and gratitude. It wasn't every day that his younger brother was this generous.

Suddenly, the sixth sense-feeling flooded his brain. Anxiety pumped into his veins, and his eyes darted wildly. No one was coming out of the doors, or the bushes or trees. No Kraang helicopters or Foot Clan shadows, so what was keeping him so wired for battle?

_Behind you._

Slowly, Leo turned his head, almost afraid to look. And there, just partially covered by a pine tree, were those evil yellow eyes and devil smirk. Leo's heart began to race quickly, his hands started to tremble with power. Before he was to attack . . .

"Hey, Harmony!" Silvia beamed. Harmony stepped away from the tree, and grinned back. Leo didn't know that she could smile in a friendly way. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard the commotion and came to help." She looked at the wrecked bullies. "You guys really did a number on them."

Leo was stunned in surprise and shock. When the shouts of teachers came, he didn't react beyond looking back weakly. "I guess we'd better get back to class," Silvia groaned, not wanting to part with her friend. "See ya, Harmony." She waved and jogged to the teachers, who were already bombing her with questions.

Harmony's friendly smile faded back to the evil grin. She walked to Leo, and examined one of the fallen attackers, Seth. "Isn't it weird," she inquired, "that humans will believe anything but the truth?"

She pretended to care to a wound on Leo's face, but instead grabbed his ear to bring his head closer. "What seems to be the farthest from the truth is actually reality. I mean, it seems impossible for a she-demon like me to have normal friends, right?"

Her fingers dug into the cut on Leo's cheek, drawing blood. Her lips nearly brushed his. "We walk in the light, us creatures of the dark, you and I. We fight, we kill, we spill blood, thinking that it will resolve our problems. But bloodshed will only lead to bloodshed and dispear."

Karai's eyes, words, sneer were echoing in his head all the rest of the day.


End file.
